


The Science of Emotion

by justbygrace



Series: Stories I'll Never Write [2]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe, F/M, Single Parent AU, They Have Kids, family fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 09:25:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13120857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justbygrace/pseuds/justbygrace
Summary: Single Parent AU. I named most of these stories.





	The Science of Emotion

"Mrs. Stone?" The voice on the other end of the phone was tinged with annoyance.

"It's Ms. Tyler." Being reminded of her ex-husband could make Rose match anyone's level of annoyance.

"Yes, well, your son got into a fight today and you need to come pick him up." The lady's tone was passing from annoyance straight into irritation.

Rose sighed. "I'll be right there."

Rubbing her forehead, Rose grabbed her purse and headed out of her cubicle, stopping only to have a word with her manager. He was an easy going American fellow by the name of Jack Harkness who understood things like family obligations, something Rose had made sure of during the interview process. When her ex had taken off leaving her alone with a three year old, Rose had been determined not to let anyone come between her and raising her son. Her mother had lent a hand where she could, but after six years, Rose was living on her own with a respectable job and her own flat. And if she was a little lacking in the romance department, well, there weren't many people who would willingly date someone with a young son.

Having squared away things with Jack, Rose made it to her car mentally trying to figure out what was going on with her son. Tony had been doing really well in school thus far, above average grades, extremely social, involved in extra activities, and in the last month it had all begun to drop away. This was his first fight, but it had only been a matter of time; he had become more and more withdrawn and irritable, refusing to answer questions and locking himself in his room. She had a sinking feeling that it had to do with his increasing awareness that most of the other boys his age had involved fathers whereas his was a deadbeat who preferred world tours and loose woman than home and responsibility. Tony knew the generals about his father, but remembered none of the particulars and really, Rose had no idea what to say to him or even how to broach the subject.

Rose parked her car and started into the school no closer to an answer than she had been. So deep was she in thought that when she turned the corner into the doorway, she smacked right into someone. She was apologizing before she got a good look at them and then stopped in mid-sentence. Standing in front of her was the most gorgeous man she had ever seen. He was tall and skinny, but not enough to appear unhealthy, just to be devastatingly attractive. And his hair, god his hair, Rose had to swallow convulsively a few times to be able to form words. 

"I'm really sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." Rose could feel her cheeks flame and she willed herself to take some deep breaths.

"No, no, it was my fault. Mea culpa and all that. Sort of in a hurry and my mind was in the clouds. Well, not literally in the clouds, that would be weird. I wonder where that phrase comes from? I'm sure there is a definition somewhere. Anyway." The man abruptly cut off his ramblings, hand going to the back of his neck.

"It's fine, really. It was my fault." Rose suddenly realized the conversation was going in circles and gestured towards the door that he was blocking.

"Yeah, right, of course." He held the door for her, following her through a moment later. "I'm the Doctor by the way."

"Just the Doctor?" Rose raised one eyebrow at him.

"Well, Doctor James McCrimmon. My friends call me Doctor though. It's a nickname cause I always wanted to be a Doctor." He offered her a charming if slightly embarrassed smile.

"Well, good to meet you. I'm Rose. Rose Tyler." She matched his smile and turned towards the office.

He followed her in, though he didn't continue talking for which she was vaguely thankful, she had a son to deal with. Rose spotted Tony immediately, slouched in a chair in the corner, ice pack firmly over his right eye and lip out a mile. She went to him immediately, pulling him into a hug which he resisted only slightly. 

"Ahh, Mrs. Stone, Dr. McCrimmon. You're both here, excellent." 

Rose turned at the sound of the voice, a female one that immediately grated on her nerves. "It's Ms. Tyler actually," She corrected automatically, assessing the other woman. She was slightly taller than Rose and quite a bit better dressed, looking a great deal more like a politician than a school employee.

"Of course, Ms. Tyler. I'm Headmistress Reinette Poisson." She smiled, but it was mostly directed at the Doctor and Rose resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "If you could both come to my office?"

Rose glanced over at the Doctor to find him crouched next to a young girl, hand on her shoulder and talking quietly. The girl was holding a cloth to her nose and Rose raised an eyebrow at Tony. He had gotten into a fight with a girl? Tony, for his part, kept his gaze firmly on the ground.

It took a moment for the Doctor to finish his conversation and to follow the two ladies into the Headmistress' office. When the door was shut behind them, Reinette immediately started the conversation.

"It appears that your son, Ms. Tyler, started this altercation." The way she stressed Rose's name set her teeth on edge and she had to force herself not to just take her son and leave. "Ms. McCrimmon was sitting there studying when he started calling her names and punched her."

Rose dug her fingernails into her palm, willing herself to keep her mouth shut. The woman's tone was condescending and she had no interest in listening to a diatribe by some woman who hardly knew her son. Where was the old Headmaster? He had been fair in his dealings and always had good things to say about Tony. Her internal monologue was interrupted by the Doctor.

"Why don't we ask them what happened? Frankly, I'd rather hear the story from Jenny than a third party." His tone was mild, but there was an undercurrent of something in his voice that made the Headmistress sit up a little straighter before pressing a buzzer on her desk and requesting that the children be sent in.

The kids came in quietly, wearing matching shamefaced expressions. Tony immediately sank down into a chair by the door while the Doctor's daughter leaned casually against the wall. For a moment all five people were silent and then the Doctor broke the silence.

"I want to know what happened from you two." It wasn't a question, but he didn't sound irritated either. Rose couldn't help admiring his command of the situation.

"I told him he couldn't hit me. He did. I'm not mad," Jenny spoke up with a touch of her father's strength in her voice.

"She's not mad, mum. And she told me I could," Tony added pleadingly.

Rose had to stifle a smile and from the look of the Doctor he was doing the same. The Headmistress, on the other hand, was not. "This is unacceptable behavior. I don't care what the circumstances were."

"Now look, Reinette, may I call you Reinette?" The Doctor turned towards her.

"Of course you may." She fluttered her eyelashes and Rose caught Jenny making gagging motions behind her father's back and had to cover a laugh with a cough.

"Thank you. It appears to me that these two didn't really harm anyone. They made a bet, albeit a kind of stupid one," The Doctor leveled a look at his daughter who glanced away, "and I'm quite sure they learned their lesson. I'm definitely not pressing charges. So why don't we just agree to take some time away from school and leave this off of permanent records."

"I suppose that would be adequate. Very well. Mr. Stone, you are suspended for the next week. Ms. McCrimmon, for the rest of the day." The headmistress looked pleased with her decision, but the Doctor did not.

"I'm sorry Reinette to argue with you in front of the children, but it seems to me that my daughter started this and I prefer that she not get into the habit of telling people to hit her." The Doctor folded his arms. "I think suspending them for equal amounts of time is preferable."

Rose bit her lip, grateful for his help, but unsure of his motivations. People rarely stood up for children that weren't their own and she couldn't imagine why any parent would argue for a longer suspension.

The Headmistress looked incredibly annoyed, but managed a tight-lipped smile. "Very well Dr. McCrimmon, have it your way. I expect both children back in a week."

"Thank you." The Doctor nodded at his daughter and headed towards the door.

Rose smiled at the Headmistress and catching Tony's hand in hers, followed the McCrimmon's through the office and out of the school. Once on the sidewalk, the four of them stood uncertainly in a small circle. It was Jenny who spoke first.

"Sorry about that. I didn't think he could do it. And I'm really not mad, honest Ms. Tyler." She had an openness to her young face that endeared her to Rose immediately, not to mention the spunkiness that Rose could clearly remember from her own childhood.

"I'm sorry too." Tony said. "But she did dare me to."

"Yes, about that." The Doctor raised an eyebrow at his daughter. 

"Well, I learned that new technique at martial arts last night. And I just wanted to try it out." Jenny crossed her arms. "And you did say I could."

"I didn't say you could dare kids at school to hit you!" The Doctor shook his head and looked at Rose for backup.

Rose chuckled. "I'm just glad it wasn't anything more serious, but Tony, maybe we ought to sign you up for lessons also."

"Yeah, he's got really good technique. I bet he'd do good." Jenny grinned, practically jumping with excitement.

"Well, besides the violence, I'm glad we all met. Tony, I've heard a lot about you." The Doctor shook the boy's hand with a smile.

Rose raised an eyebrow, she had never heard Tony mention Jenny. "Are you both in the same year?"

"No, I'm a year ahead of him. But we hang out a lot," Jenny answered.

"I think we should all go out for some food. I'm hungry," the Doctor announced, glancing at Rose for confirmation.

"My boss gave me a long lunch, so why not?" Rose agreed. 

"Can we get chips?" Jenny asked excitedly.

"Chips are my favorite," Rose said conspiratorially.

"Well, that's settled then." The Doctor grinned, clapping his hands together.

As they discussed where to go, Rose found her mind wandering. This was so far outside of her normal behavior, she had no idea why she was agreeing to have chips with a random man and his daughter. In fact, now that she thought about it, she wondered where Mrs. McCrimmon was. As soon as she and Tony were safely in their car and following the McCrimmon's battered blue vehicle across town, she asked Tony as casually as she could.

"Oh, Jenny's mum died when she was a baby," Tony responded. "Do you think he's hot?"

"Who?" Rose glanced at her son in confusion.

"The Doctor, of course." The look he gave her was very critical. "I think you should marry him. Jenny does too."

"What? I've literally just...I've never...Tony, what are you on about?" Rose sputtered.

He slumped a bit in his seat. "I dunno. It just seems like a good idea. He's single and so are you. And you're both lonely. Plus, Jenny says he's really nice. And he's a doctor and they go on trips together and stuff."

"I don't even know if he would be interested." Rose watched Tony's face fall a bit more. "Why don't we have chips with them first and see how things go, huh? I promise to be charming." 

He laughed and switched on the radio, immediately nodding along with the song, apparently satisfied with her answer. Rose, however, was a great deal less settled. She had certainly felt an attraction to this Doctor fellow, but the idea that the kids were trying to set them up was a bit disturbing, not to mention the idea that the Doctor might be in on it. She did want to find someone to spend her life with, but her experiences with Jimmy had taught her to be cautious and she wasn't ready to just jump in to something with both feet. She shook her head, hardly believing she was putting so much thought into it. This was just two families having chips together because their kids had gotten into a stupid fight at school, there was no need to be overly concerned. She pulled into the spot next to the McCrimmon's vehicle, determined to enjoy the outing.

<><><><><><><><><>

Rose did enjoy the meal, far more than she had been expecting to and standing outside the chippy an hour later, she found she was loathe to part company with the Doctor and Jenny. The Doctor had been funny, interesting, and extremely charming, not to mention full of genuine questions and random tidbits of information, she found herself wishing to get to know him a little better without the kids around. She grinned as she watched Tony and the Doctor animatedly arguing over which superhero was the best.

Rose glanced over to see Jenny rolling her eyes. 

"My dad might be all grown up with a couple of degrees and his own medical practice, but he's basically an overgrown kid," Jenny sighed deeply. "Don't judge him on this."

Rose chuckled, her earlier reservations practically melted away. "Don't worry, Jenny, I won't"

The guys apparently heard this because they looked over with identical aggrieved expressions. 

"Mum!" Tony exclaimed. "Everyone knows Batman is the best."

"Clearly you are mistaken," the Doctor began in a mournful tone.

"Anyway," Rose interrupted, "Tony, I think we need to get going. I need to get back to work so you'll be going to Grandma's." 

"No, mum, please! Grandma'll never understand." Tony affected his best puppy dog impression.

"I think she'll understand better than you think." Rose thought back to several instances with her mum with a fond smile. 

"If you don't mind, we certainly would enjoy having the company of Mr. Tony for the afternoon," the Doctor said, eyes fixed on Rose and his puppy impression was much more moving than Tony's had been.

"I don't want to inconvenience you." Rose looked doubtfully at the three pleading expressions directed at her.

"No inconvenience. Besides we have a dispute to settle." The Doctor grinned and Rose had to remind herself to breathe.

"Let me just talk to the Doctor for a second." Rose stepped away from the group and the Doctor followed her. "Are you sure about this?" She directed her question to somewhere behind his left ear, she was discovering that gazing directly at him caused her to have trouble forming words.

"I promise, Rose." He bent slightly to capture her gaze. "You have a charming, intelligent son. I run my own practice and don't need to see to any patients this afternoon. We'll just be spending time at the park. He'll be safe, I'll make sure of it."

Rose took a deep breath, making the decision to trust him. "Thank you, Doctor. I know he'll enjoy the time."

She started to walk back to the children, but he caught her hand halting her movement. "Can I take you to dinner sometime? Tonight or tomorrow? Or Saturday? Or every night?" 

Rose's eyes widened at his questions and then smiled when she saw his hand go to the back of his neck in a gesture she was quickly realizing was embarrassment. "Tomorrow night?" 

He grinned at her in genuine relief and she couldn't help but smile back, until she realized they were standing in the middle of the pavement holding hands and grinning at each other like loons. She cleared her throat and took a step back and he jumped, dropping her hand and opening his mouth to give her rambling instructions to his house. Rose had to force herself not to betray her shock when she recognized the area of the city he lived in, mentally kicking herself for even considering a relationship with someone who was so obviously out of her league and then kicking herself for thinking of a friendly offer and a meal as a relationship. She hugged Tony goodbye slightly distractedly and headed to her car, unaware of the way the Doctor stood and watched her leave while the kids sported equally triumphant grins.


End file.
